Catching the trade winds: Mallorca, mon amour

The last month of my summer break was spent in one of my favorite places on Earth: Palma de Mallorca, in the Balearic Islands. Ask pretty much any yachtie who has spent some time there where they would like to settle down, should they one day retire from yachting - the answer will most likely be Palma, or a place nearby somewhere in Mallorca.

The famous cathedral. Photo credit: Daniel Alchin

Sunset near Banyalbufar

Morning coffee with a view

It seems like all the stars aligned to make me fall in love with the place all over again: thanks to one of the coolest French chicks on the island, I found a lovely little apartment located near the Santa Catalina indoors market (not hard to guess that I spent a lot of time in there), with the best roommate I could have wished for, only seconds away from the place where I took my Yachtmaster course. Then, before I had even really started looking for work, work found me (thanks to Invisible Crew, who did a great job!), and everything in my life started falling into place after my interview with the captain of my new boat.

Two weeks of my stay were devoted to getting my Yachtmaster Offshore ticket - something I had been postponing for quite a while. I did the course with Aigua Sea School, which turned out to be a great decision. The theory week was as fun as sitting in a classroom for 5 days can possibly be, thanks to our instructor John and great classmates. The practical week turned out to be a lot better than I had expected, on a Elan 43 that was actually fun to sail, with overall good conditions. Even with the pressure of the exam looming over us, I felt happy to be back out on the water. The exam itself took place mostly at night, and gave all four students good reason to celebrate as we all passed without any trouble.

Stormy sky over the cathedral during the practical course

Relaxing with baby Ocean after class

Even though I will not be using my Yachtmaster ticket for my next job, I am glad that I took the course and passed the exam - more than anything, I proved to myself that I have what it takes to be a Captain, and it is a first step in my project of one day having my own boat...

Before, during and after the course, I spent as much time as I could with all the wonderful people I know on the island. Thanks to Andres (whom you might remember from my Colombia posts), I also discovered parts of the island I had not seen so far, and it made me love Mallorca even more.

The long way down to the best paella on the island

The promised paella - worth every step

Lunch with a view

Sa Foradada, only accessible by foot or by boat

One month in Palma seemed way too short to fully take in all that the island and the city have to offer, but the new job was calling and I had to fly back to Paris to prepare for my next big adventure (more details about it soon!). One thing is for sure: I will be back, and should I one day retire from yachting, Palma might very well be where I will choose to unpack my bags for good...